Construction update May 2022: digging deep

A wide view of a construction site with metal pilings and rebar.

May 17, 2022

Mass excavation and earth retention is complete and the focus is now squarely on concrete operations.

At the underground, two-level parking garage, which is a more straight-forward structure, work has advanced rapidly. Almost 33% of the garage’s perimeter walls have already been formed, and much of those walls have already been poured:

Part of the goals for the OPC’s design was to try and minimize the visual impact of the Center within Jackson Park. In addition to the fully underground garage, almost one-third of the Center’s occupiable area is below-gradel, with a series of courtyards to bring natural light into these spaces. What that means from a construction standpoint is that there is a lot of work “in the ground” before the Center’s buildings become visible. Currently, crews are working at a depth of approximately 20 feet below street level to ready the two Museum Building “cores”, which are the areas where that building’s stairs, elevators and mechanical/electric shafts will run up the height of the building:

A construction site with several large cranes over a concrete wall and dirt field.
A wide view of a construction site with metal pilings and rebar.

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3D rendering of the Obama Presidential Center Plaza

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More construction updates

A gray stone installation climbs up the north and east faces of the Museum Building at the Obama Presidential Center. Blue tarp-wrapped escalator bases are seen through an opening that will eventually be clad in an art glass installation. A clear blue sky is in the background.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update October 2024: Concrete is complete at the Obama Presidential Center

Concrete construction across the site is complete. The Sky Room and Oval Office are taking shape.

Learn more
On a clear blue-sky day, President Obama stands in a hard hat and a brightly colored safety vest at the Obama Presidential construction site and signs a beam. A large group of construction workers with various skin tones also wearing safety clothing surround him.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update June 2024: President Obama marks the completion of the Museum Building

The Museum Building at the Obama Presidential Center has reached its final height of 225 feet.

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A low angle shot shows workers on an orange basket lift affixing a panel of “Tapestry” stone to the lower west face of the Museum Building. A cloudy sunny sky is in the background.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update May 2024: The Obama Presidential Center takes shape

Check out the latest construction update at the Obama Presidential Center.

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President Obama is smiling wearing sunglasses, a white hardhat with the Obama Foundation rising sun logo, gloves, and a bright orange safety vest over a long dress coat. He is holding a cup of coffee and standing next to a white woman wearing a neon yellow construction coat, hard hat, and goggles. They are walking in front of three other people with a range of light to deep skin tones wearing orange safety vests and white hard hats. They are all walking in an unfinished building with scaffolding in the background.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
December 8th 2023 – construction update

See the latest photos and stay up-to-date on the building process.

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A view of the Museum Building rising to the sky on the site of the Obama Presidential Center. Cranes are in the sky as work continues on the garage rooftop. Construction equipment is scattered throughout.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Oct. 2023: Granite panels are going up

The days may be getting cooler, but things are heating up at the Obama Presidential Center!

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A construction worker in a white hard hat and orange safety vest looks at a structure as he stands on the concrete floor of Museum Building Level 3
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update July 2023: third floor and climbing

Construction has reached the third floor, where a reconstruction of the Obama Oval Office will be on exhibit.

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On a clear day, a crane rises up behind a concrete building that’s under construction. In the foreground sits a rust-colored industrial trash bin and to the right, a construction worker wearing a white hard hat and yellow safety vest looks down at a pile of building material.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Sept. 2023: 100 feet and climbing

It has been a season of great progress! The height of the stair and elevator wells have passed the halfway-point of the building.

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A massive crane stands high above a construction site.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update May 2023: concrete on repeat

Work on the Museum building has reached an exciting milestone with the placement of the street level deck to form the concrete floor at this level.

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A construction site with scaffolding, concrete and rebar. Two people wear neon yellow and hard hats on the right side.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update April 2023: meeting a parking garage milestone

Major structural work on the underground parking garage is complete!

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Two construction workers wearing bright orange and yellow vests and white hard hats appear to unload planks of wood. They stand in a cavernous room of concrete filled with insulation and other building materials.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update March 2023: Library and Forum trade work begins

As the Center continues to take shape, we are thrilled to reach a new milestone in its construction.

Learn more
A building being constructed of concrete at the Obama Presidential Center. Beams and rebar can be seen in scaffolding. A worker is wearing orange and working in the background. The sky is gray.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Jan. 2023: mild weather and a strong start to 2023

Construction at The Center has picked up considerably since the holidays, aided by the unseasonably mild weather.

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A wide shot of the construction on the site of the Obama Presidential Center in the daytime.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Sept. 2022: Year two begins

As construction of the Obama Presidential Center enters its second year, the focus is almost entirely on concrete.

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missing
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Aug. 2022: first workforce report released

The organization is on track to meet its ambitious workforce and business diversity goals for construction.

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A construction site showing scaffolding and rebar
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update July 2022: casting columns and concrete

The majority of columns for the lower level of the parking garage have been cast and construction of the concrete walls is nearly complete.

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People wearing neon yellow safety gear gather around Barack Obama as he shakes hands with a woman in the center. A white tarp is behind them.
  • Building the Center
  • Barack Obama
Construction update June 2022: President Obama stops by

Watch as President Obama surprises the construction crew and tours the site.

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A wide view of a construction site with metal pilings and rebar.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update May 2022: digging deep

Mass excavation and earth retention is complete and the focus is now squarely on concrete operations.

Learn more
A construction site with concrete and scaffolding. A building is at the center with a red scaffold in the middle.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update April 2022: Cranes are up

Two tower cranes were installed to facilitate the construction of the Garage and Museum Building.

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A construction site filled with mud and concrete. Large metal tubing is on either side and a wood staircase is in the back center of the frame.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update March 2022: Earth retention work is complete

A metal perimeter around the subterranean level of the main buildings and parking garage will prevent water from infiltrating the buildings.

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A wide shot of snow-covered ground and buildings in the background. The sun is shining in a blue sky.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Feb. 2022: getting ready for mass excavation

Progress on constructing the Obama Presidential Center continues with relatively few inclement weather delays.

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A snowy, muddy construction site with the rectangular outline of metal and red pipe.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Jan 2022: ringing in the new year with geothermal wells

Drilling for geothermal wells is nearly complete, and work to connect the wells through a series of lateral ducts is about a third of the way finished.

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Two men in neon yellow construction jackets and hardhats stand waist-deep in a dirt trench. Behind them are construction vehicles and a blue sky with buildings.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Dec. 2021: drilling down

Drilling began for the first caissons that will support the underground parking garage.

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People explore the sky room of the future Obama Presidential Center
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Oct. 2021: hosting a community event for People with Disabilities

This event will bring members of the disabilities community up to speed on the current approach to inclusive design at the OPC.

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Barack and Michelle Obama with shovels in their hands, smiling at the camera, pretending to dig in a pile of dirt. A man stands on one side of them, Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot holds a shovel on the other side.
  • Building the Center
  • Barack Obama
Construction update Sept. 2021: breaking ground

Mayor Lightfoot and Governor Pritzker joined President and Mrs. Obama for the ceremony, each sharing remarks.

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A slightly-angled graphic rendering of a large, white rectangular building surrounded by green fields, white pathways and trees. A road is on one side and a body of water on the other.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update Aug. 2021: Roadway improvements begin

Roadway improvements will continue and construction will begin within the 19.3 acre site of the Center that sits within Jackson Park.

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A mostly green and gray site-plan map of the Obama Presidential Center with a focus on buildings, pathways and roads.
  • Building the Center
  • Chicago
Construction update June 2021: Median work begins

Expect lane closures as preparatory work to remove the existing median on Cornell Drive and install a new one begins.

Learn more